To understand whether an "American" music emerged from the traditions in the early 20th century, we need to focus on the term "American" and what musical genres fall into that category. First, America, in a cultural sense, is seen as a huge "melting pot", a fusion of cultures, ethnic traditions, beliefs and musical styles. It is very difficult to label a genre under the category of American music, since a large number of styles, in historical terms, arose from a mixture of styles such as jazz and country music. Influences from a variety of ethnic backgrounds have provided the possibility for the growth and commercialism of the genres and made them more mainstream. Focusing on jazz and country, it is clear that these genres come from a number of ethnic traditions shaped by their native regions. The idea that music in America is diverse can identify genres as indeed American and that indeed an American music emerged from traditions that entered into the twentieth century. Ethnically, blacks can be credited with emerging jazz traditions from blues roots and other subgenres like ragtime, but on a regional front, despite New Orleans being the birthplace of jazz, it has not been popularized and, in my opinion, American , until it spread to other cities, thanks to white musicians and composers. When exploring jazz music, it is essential to explore its roots in Blues music. Derived from southern regional traditions and ethnic traditions surrounding the slave culture of the 1800s, blues music can be traced back to the plantations and industries of the Mississippi Delta that required heavy manual labor for blacks (Crawford, 2001b, 557). The blues inspired jazz in the late 19th century and I...... middle of paper ......additions, especially from the South, created a musical diversity and with it an American music.Works CitedCandelaria, L. & Kingman, D., 2007. American Music: A Panorama, third concise edition, California, Clark Baxter, Thomson-SchirmerCrawford, R., 2001a. American Musical Life: A History, New York, W. W. Norton & Company Inc. Crawford, R., 2001b. An Introduction to America's Music, New York, WW Norton & Company Inc. Ferris, J., [1990] 2006. America's Musical Landscape, fifth edition, New York, McGraw-HillMalone, BC, [1968] 2000. Country Music USA: Revised, Texas, University of Texas Mauk, D. & Oakland, J., [1995] 2009, American Civilization: An Introduction, Fifth Edition, New York, RoutledgeTaylor, F.J. 2005. “Black Music and Musicians in the Nineteenth Century” in The Western Journal of Black Studies, 29.3 (2005), 615-620